Anonymous wrote:Is anyone familiar with Oxford? Has anyone from the DC area applied as an undergraduate in recent years? Would love to know any and all info as I'm thinking about it for my child.

DD knows two kids there now. Both are from different DC privates. DD says they report they like it, but we have no insights into the admissions process other than to say both of these girls were amazing brilliant girls.

The British intelligentsia on America, from one of our rare defenders over there: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2013/07/america-with-love-aa-gill-excerpt

It's different. I have had a number of friends do study abroad programs various universities in the UK, and I had a friend who went to Cambridge. My friend who went to Cambridge's father was British and she had relatives there. Essentially the main difference (and this is true of nearly all European universities) is there are no distribution requirements/liberal arts curriculum, so you only take classes in/related to your major. You have to apply to your major at the get go, and grades are entirely or almost entirely dependent on a final (sometimes oral, sometimes written). This is different from most US universities, which often include homework and at the very least a few midterm exams as a part of your grade. DH did a lab internship at Oxford when he was in college, and although he wasn't a student, but he had a lot of exposure to graduate students and postdocs there and the overall culture. He loved it--just the sense of deep tradition, the taking finals and qualifying exams in people's academia regalia and the "trashing" (covering with champagne, silly string, etc. after passing exams) afterwards. He didn't experience a lot of the negativity that many describe Americans having, but DH is very bright but grew up in a working class environment and wouldn't have had an entitled attitude--plus he had a charming southern accent that the brits found hard to place. He also was able to just shrug off British condescension and snottiness. He had dreamed of going to Oxford since he was a little kid, and the sense of history appeals to him.

That said, I don't think it's an environment for everyone. It's intense, very different from the culture at US universities, and nearly everyone will have had a very different kind of education/background. Plus it is full of the British upper class, which is a different beast from the American upper class. It could be very alienating, but it might work for the right student.

The dorms are freezing cold, the beds are uncomfortable and they hate Americans. The system is very different than American Universities. You are expected to go read, study, reflect and then come back with thoughtful observations to share in a small group periodic with your college master. In other word's it's more akin to a doctoral program. It's not for everyone. Women still have it rough, too.

A local kid who did some MCPS magnets, homeschooling and boarding school is now at Oxford and by all accounts is really enjoying it.

A friend of ours educated in Europe explained to me that the reason college is 3 years there is that high school is 13 grades -- in other words, your last year of high school is like your first year of college. That sounds different from the US system traditionally, but given that the kids with any chance at Oxford would have to have a full plate of AP or IB courses senior year any way, I suspect the preparation is not as different as it used to be.

I think it would be very tough, coming out of the American school system, to get into a college at Oxford. The prep is so different. I have a family member who went to Cambridge but he spent his last years of secondary school in English schools so he was acculturated. The movie History Boys is a funny look at preparing for Oxbridge admissions.

It's a very different program from US universities. As others have said it's three years long, you specialize immediately, and you can get away with doing bugger all as long as you pass the oral at the end. It also is a conglomeration of smaller institutions - there isn't really one "Oxford" that you apply to.

We looked into this for our DC this year. The school counselor knew him and thought it might be a good fit. We were told that Oxford doesn't care about your extra-curricular activities and social activism compared to US schools, they care about you analytic abilities (there is also a funny line about this in the movie Admission with Tina Fey). We were told that the interviews would count as much or even more than your transcript. They might hand a kid a poem to read on the spot and then ask you to argue over interpretation -- all of this actually appealed to our child a great deal! Ultimately, DC did not apply because 1) you do have to apply for a specific major, it is only 3 years, and you have very little flexibility in electives; and (2) none of us were that comfortable with needing to fly over an ocean to get to and from school.

A girl from my daughter's school applied who was one of the top students at the elite private all-girls school. Her mother was British and dad American. She said they asked a lot of questions in her interview about things she never studied. She didn't get in.

Maybe what PP meant by "miserable" is that the Brits generally look down on Americans, don't want to socialize with you, and so on. I say this as an American with British relatives (many of whom attended Cambridge and 1-2 who went to Oxford). I have also lived in Europe. Chelsea Clinton, who by anybody's definition is a pretty sophisticated American, said that she found herself huddling up close with the other Americans at Oxford, something she never expected.

The education is first rate, of course.

You may know this, but at Oxford you will need to choose a specialty, as opposed to the US liberal arts system where you choose a major after 2 years. (I think you may have a year to do this at Oxford, but at other European universities it's even sooner. I could be wrong.) Also, fewer quizzes, tests and papers, and often just one big oral exam at the end. At least, that was the experience at the non-British university I attended.

If your child is a good ol’ American who spent most of their life in the United States and has had little exposure abroad, they are likely to find anything different to be “miserable” (as pp says). If your child is more of a “global citizen” who has actually traveled abroad to the great cities of Europe and Asia, then they might thrive at Oxford. Admission is very challenging, but the experience can be worthwhile.

Why? It's a miserable place for Americans. One of my friends was a female Rhodes. It was the worst period of her life.

Is anyone familiar with Oxford? Has anyone from the DC area applied as an undergraduate in recent years? Would love to know any and all info as I'm thinking about it for my child.